


Other-Wordly: Tales Of Ladybug And Chat Noir

by Wordsmyth



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Dorks, Everyone is adorable, F/M, One Word Prompts, Rain, other_wordly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2018-11-22 10:31:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11378376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wordsmyth/pseuds/Wordsmyth
Summary: A series of one word prompts. Loosely connected, can be read as a story, or as standalone oneshots. The words are taken from the book Other-Wordly: Words Both Strange And Lovely From Around The World by Yee-Lum Mak, with Kelsey Garrity-Riley as the illustrator.





	1. Hoppípolla

**Author's Note:**

> I Don't own anything. All rights go to Thomas Astruc, Zagtoon, and Method Animation.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hoppípolla (verb phr., Icelandic)  
> Jumping into puddles

It was a teacher’s work day, or something to that effect. A day when students were allowed to stay home while the teachers were at school catching up on work that had piled up over months of educating. It was a day that Adrien hadn’t told his father or Nathalie about.

 

It was a scheme that Alya had thought up to allow him to spend the day with his friends. He would go to school as usual, wait inside until the Gorilla had left, and then walk down to Marinette’s parent’s bakery the meet up with Marinette and wait for Alya and Nino. 

 

Everything had gone perfectly to plan, Adrien had made it to the bakery, and Alya and Nino arrived a few minutes later. They all had a wonderful breakfast made by the Dupain-Chengs and were ready for a day of fun in the city of lights. 

 

Adrien was standing at the door, hand on the handle when-

 

**_KRA-KOOM_ **

 

A bolt of lightning split the sky and the rain poured out in a torrential downpour. It was raining cats and dogs, and poodles were everywhere.

 

“Well,” muttered Alya, “there goes the arcade.”

 

“And the movie theater.” continued Nino.

 

“And the day.” finished a despondent Marinette. 

 

Adrien was too sad to even say anything. The perfect day off, ruined by the weather. Luckily for everyone, especially Adrien, Tom and Sabine were masters at having fun no matter the weather, and had passed that trait down to their daughter twofold.

 

“Wait!” She shouted, “This isn't the end of our day, this is just the beginning!” And with that she rushed off up to the home above the bakery.

 

Nino and Adrien just looked to Alya, who was the most accustomed to their effervescent friend's antics. Her response was a simple shrug that said, ‘ _ just go along with it.’ _

 

They shrugged back and went up the stairs to find what appeared to be a stack of pillows, blankets, and board games with legs stumbling in the vague direction of the couch.

 

OoOoOoO

 

What followed was an amazing evening of games and movies and the pillow nest to end all pillow nests. A game of Ladybug and Chat Noir themed Monopoly was played, ending with Marinette and her tiny Chat Noir figure  _ -who she called Kitten Noir- _ owning the vast majority of the board, followed by an Adrien  _ -whose face matched his Ladybug figure- _ who made his father proud by owning the six most expensive properties.

 

Pictionary was played with Marinette dominating the artistic portion, while Nino and Alya shared first place with their impressive guessing skills, that, and knowing their friends well enough that guessing wasn't all that difficult. Adrien was well seated in last place after discovering just how adorable Marinette was when she was focused on drawing and subsequently spending most of the time watching her instead of guessing.

Many card games were played as well. Marinette’s luck won her three hands and twenty six euro in a game of poker. Alya’s quick thinking won her two out of five games oF slapjack. Nino’s stellar poker face and chill countenance winning a few rounds of Old Maid. And Adrien’s upper class upbringing netting him several hands, and eventually the game, of Gin Rummy.

 

After the last hand of Rummy went in Adrien’s favor  _ -the wildcard Jokers loved the boy- _ the group packed away the games and cards into the nearby closet. They finished getting everything back in place just as Mrs. Dupain-Cheng finished making lunch for everyone. It was a chinese stir-fry and it was truly divine.

 

After that wonderful lunch the four of them settled down with some assorted pastries and sweets to watch a movie or two, suitably cocooned in blankets. After debating about what to watch it was discovered that Adrien had never seen the Princess Bride. Seeing as that apparently counted as a travesty against mankind, everyone decided to watch the Princess Bride. The much beloved classic was followed by Rapunzel and Mulan, respectively.

 

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Nino and Alya left early, quickly citing half-coherent reasons, leaving Adrien and Marinette to pack away the pillows and blankets. It was actually rather enjoyable for the two of them, for some reason the two of them worked together masterfully, and they both enjoyed the quiet and subtle camaraderie that comes with working together to clean something.

 

After bidding farewell to the Dupain-Chengs Marinette and Adrien left for their school so the Gorilla and Nathalie could pick Adrien up, both none the wiser for the day's happenings. The rain had petered out to a light sprinkle and the two teens made their way through the puddles and the rain, Marinette in her rain boots and Adrien in a pair of Tom's old rain boots which were so large and tall they only fit him while he was wearing his shoes inside the boots. He was also carrying an umbrella leant to him by Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, while Marinette carried a suspiciously familiar black umbrella.

 

“You kept it?” Adrien asked, a little dumbfounded.

 

“What, the umbrella?” Marinette responded, before remembering how she came across the umbrella and stuttering out something approaching an apology and offering to return it.

 

“Marinette, it's fine, you can keep it. We've got maybe a dozen more at home so it's no real loss.” Adrien said with a heart melting smile, heart melting for Marinette, that is. He was about to continue speaking when he heard a splash sounding out from beneath him. It would seem that the extra weight of the over-large boots had caused him to step more heavily than usual, sending a splash out from the puddle. He just smiled and carried on, occasionally splashing when he reached a puddle. Over the next minute or so he slowly started to splash more and more often. Eventually it became rather obvious what he was doing; splashing through the puddles like the child his father rarely allowed him to be. His joyous laughter was especially infectious to Marinette, and she suddenly found herself splashing through the puddles alongside her crush. The two teenagers splashed their way to their school, laughing all the way. 

 

They arrived out of breath and a little damp, but it was wholly worth it. After catching their breath Adrien got to work shedding the large rain boots to maintain the appearance of having been at school the whole day. Marinette tucked the boots and the loaned umbrella out of sight and the two sat in a comfortable silence, waiting for Adrien’s ride. After parting with a heartfelt thank you and a surprise hug from Adrien Marinette picked up the extra boots, tucked the second umbrella under her arm, and made her way home. 

 

And despite the puddles, the rain, and the overcast sky, there was no trudging, Marinette’s heart was to light and full of love to tolerate any trudging. And as the sky opened up and released a fresh torrent of rain, a muffled, happy refrain softly resounded through the deserted streets.

 

“ _ I'm singing, singing in the rain.” _


	2. Mamihlapinatapai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mamihlapinatapai (noun, Yaghan)  
> The look shared by two people who have reached an understanding or who desire the same thing, but each wish the other would offer it first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to warn you this is un-beta'd. If you notice something thats off, please let me know!

Marinette let out a loving sigh as she gazed  _ -”Stared.” Said the little Alya in her head- _ down at Adrien as he worked with Nino on the physics project that the class was doing, something about mirrors and lenses and meter sticks. A project she would be helping Alya with if she weren't so busy looking at Adrien. Not that she'd be much help, having focused on him for most of the class.

 

Time passed. Five minutes? Ten? It didn't matter. When looking at Adrien, all she knew about time was that it wasn't enough. Then, as it often does, time suddenly became much more relevant. As the faint ringing faded away, she felt a nudge on her shoulder. Pulling herself out of “Adrien Land” as Alya and Tikki loved calling it, Marinette looked over at her friend.

 

“Pull yourself together, girl! That was the final bell, school’s out for the week!”

 

Alya’s words sent a shock through her system and the last hour came back to her; the project, the lecture, and all that time spent focused solely on Adrien. Marinette began to perform what appeared to be a strange dance, scrabbling wildly as she attempted to apologize to Alya and gather her school supplies, switching between tasks like a drunken fencesitter.

 

“Alya, I am  _ so _ sorr-” Marinette began, before being cut off by her friend.

 

“Relax girl. It's fine, I understand. You were staring at, what was it this time? His Hair? His shoulders?” Alya smirked and leaned in closer.

 

“His butt?” Alya chuckled to herself as her friend began stuttering incoherently, all the while blushing up a storm.

 

The stuttering stopped moments later. The blush, on the other hand, lasted all the way home. And returned whenever she thought of Adrien.

 

Suffice to say, Marinette spent the whole evening, night, and weekend blushing.

 

OoOoOoO

 

Adrien and Nino watched as a giggling Alya and a hot-pink Marinette walked quickly by. Headed, presumably, to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. 

 

The two stared on in silence, a mix of something approaching a companionable silence, and a ‘ _ what the hell was that’ _ silence.

 

Adrien, being the beautiful sunshine child he is, was the first to break the silence. Though, even he, socially inept as he is, wasn't dumb enough to ask what the girls were doing. Even he knew that to attempt to understand girls was to invite madness.

 

“So... I noticed something in class today.” He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets in the classic Agreste  _ ‘I’m confused and out of my depth; please help me’ _ stance. Nino looked at his friend and prepared himself to help him in any way he could. 

 

He, an overexcited Alya, and an embarrassed Marinette had already given him the “Black Cats and Ladybugs” talk  _ -a variant on the “Birds and the Bees” talk that’d had Adrien and Marinette blushing even more than expected-  _ so he was sure that nothing could be more difficult. 

 

He was wrong.

 

Dead wrong.

 

If he made any mistakes, he'd have Alya mad and disappointed in him, Marinette would be depressed and angry with him, and he didn't even  _ know _ how Adrien would react if he messed this up.

 

“When I was putting the mirrors and lenses into place and getting them all lined up,” Adrien was beginning to ramble  _ and _ talk about physics, this could not be good, “I noticed something in the reflection; Marinette was staring at me. And every once in awhile I'd use a mirror to look back and she would still be staring.” Adrien’s ramble petered off as a look of horror dawned on his face. 

 

“She isn't mad at me again, is she?” Adrien gasped/shouted. Terrified at the thought of the nice little girl  _ -with the massive father- _ being mad at him again. 

 

“Dude, no. Just, no. If Mari’s mad at you, you'll know it.” Said Nino, trying to buy time to think.

 

It wasn't enough, and he made what might be a very bad decision.

 

“Then what is it?” Adrien asked.

 

“It's... kinda the opposite. She's actually-”

 

“Is she sad?” Adrien gasped, immediately worried for his littlest friend.

 

“Bro,” Nino said forcefully, “just let me talk.” Adrien opened his mouth to respond, thought better of it, and just silently nodded.

 

“Good.” said Nino. “She's not dad. Sad is the opposite of  _ happy _ .”

 

Adrien started to interject, but stopped when Nino gave him a glare that was hauntingly reminiscent of Alya. Apparently she was rubbing off on him in more ways than one.

 

“The opposite of anger is... It’s like...” Nino huffed, looking for the right way to say this.

 

“Marinette, she’s... she is... she has...” Nino stopped for a second, taking a deep breath.

 

“Marinettemighthavefeelingsforyou!” Nino all but shouted at Adrien before rushing off towards home, wincing and muttering about Alya and retribution.

 

“Marinette... Feelings... Me?” Adrien stuttered to himself, the last word coming out in a squeek. He stood there for a while, coming to terms with what had just been said, a blinding smile slowly blooming of his face.Suddenly he was brought out of his thoughts by the familiar sound of his bodyguard honking the car horn. He would spend the nest two day blushing intermittently as thoughts of Marinette flitted through his head.

 

OoOoOoO

  
  


Monday soon arrived with the Agrest and Dupain-Cheng children blushing at the thought of meeting the objects of their affection, both old and new.

 

Their friends on the other hand were smirking at each other, having talked about what happened the previous week. Alya had been angry, until she realized that it might serve to push the two together. And judging by Adrien’s blushing countenance, she was spot on!

 

After mentally patting herself on the back for the Ladybug pun Alya looked over at Adrien, only to find him staring forward, before snapping away with a furious blush. Following her friend’s eyes she saw Marinette! A full ten minutes early Marinette! Marinette caught up to them quickly and they made their way inside, not wanting to risk Marinette somehow being late despite the ten minute buffer.

 

Adrien and Nino chatted absently about their weekends  _ -more Nino’s than Adrien’s, for obvious reasons- _ as they walked to class, the former sneaking glances at Marinette, who was staring straight ahead trying not to glance over  _ -or more aptly,  _ down _ - _ at her crush. They made it to their class and took their seats. The room was empty except for Kim, who was getting in a pre-class nap.

 

‘So, Mari, what got you to class so quickly? Eager to get a good look at your beau’s behind? You're destined’s derri er e? Your amour’s a-”

 

“Alya!” Marinette whisper-shouted, wanting to neither draw Adrien’s attention nor wake Kim up. 

 

She really was a kind girl.

 

“It’s not like that! She continued in a more subdued whisper-shout. She would have said more to defend herself, but then Chloe arrived with all the usual fanfare she demanded, and Marinette didn't want to draw any Undue attention to herself. Chloe was definitely the type of person to tease and taunt her for being on time for once. And by the time Chloe had settled into her seat, her lackey/yesgirl Sabrina by her side, Madame Bustier had walked in, noticed all her students had arrived - _ the time it took for Chloe to sit down was more than enough for Alix, Ivan, Nathaniel, and the rest of the class to arrive _ \- and decided to start class early for a change.

 

OoOoOoO

 

It was a little while later when it started. The lecture was finished and the assigned work had been completed by most of the class, and Alya and Marinette were chatting. Adrien and Nino would be as well, but the lecture had hit Nino pretty hard. That, plus the subject having been covered by Adrien’s previous tutors left a bored Adrien listening in idly to the girls behind him. They were talking about a new summer dress that Marinette had finished recently, or something to that effect; Adrien was listening mostly to their voices, as opposed to the actual words that were being said. Merely enjoying the sounds of them talking. He used to do the same thing with his parents when he was younger. He was resting somewhere between sleeping and waking when something shocked him out of his trance.

 

It was laughter.

 

Marinette’s laughter to be precise.

 

It was beautiful. It was bubbly. It was her.

 

As Adrien willingly allowed himself to be submerged into the bliss that was Marinette’s laughter, the small part of him that maintained its sense of self thought back to what caused this in the hopes that it could be repeated.

 

The girls were talking about the summer dress. Alya was asking for the same dress in her size and made a joke about it - _ bless Alya and her risque self- _ and it had made Marinette laugh. The word ‘laugh’ didn’t quite fit, wasn’t good enough to describe what Marinette was doing, but it would work until Adrien could get his hands on the Encyclopedia set he had at home.

 

That train of thought was promptly derailed when Adrien turned around to took at the two.

 

The risque joke hadn’t only sent Marinette laughing, it had also painted a rather pretty blush onto her face, the pink tone filling her face in the most delightful way. He’d seen her blush before, almost as much as he’d heard her laugh, but there was something different now. Like a door he had never noticed had suddenly opened, and she reached him on a deeper level.

 

It was then that Adrien noticed Alya looking at him with a smirk.

 

Adrien promptly turned back to his desk with a blush on his face and a question on his mind.

 

_ ‘What's happening to me?’ _

 

OoOoOoO

 

Adrien managed to make it through the rest of the day without embarrassing himself any further.

 

He even managed the first half of the following day as well.

 

And then lunch happened.

 

Alya told another joke to MArinette, but this time instead of a blush, Marinette’s laughter was finished with a hiccup... Hiccough... However you want to spell it doesn’t matter, because:

 

_ ‘Marinette hiccups like a baby bird!’  _

 

It was cute and tiny and adorable! Unfortunately for Adrien, Marinette got a handle of it quickly; Taking as deep and long a breath as she could, chasing the hiccup away.

 

Of course, Alya once again caught him staring, and he gained a sudden interest in his lunch and the table beneath it.

 

_ ‘Catch me once, shame on you, catch me twice, shame on me’ _ Adrien paraphrased to himself, promising he wouldn't stare again. Or, at least, that he wouldn't be caught staring again.

 

That promise didn’t last very long, Unless you count less than twenty-four hours as a long time. 

 

OoOoOoO

 

The next day was Wednesday, the day where the usually separated boy’s and girl’s gym classes got together to have some sort of big team-intensive sports event... thing. Adrien didn’t really remember the name of it. Last week it was dodgeball, this week it was baseball.

 

Team captains were chosen, Alix and Kim, and the class was subsequently divided. Adrien and Nino were on Alix’s team, and Marinette and Alya were with Kim. 

 

The two team leaders would decide which team was up to bat through a game of rock-paper-scissors. After a dozen ties and Alix threatening to knock Kim’s block off if he copied her again there was a winner; Kim’s team would be up to bat and Alix’s would play the field.

 

alix took pitcher, Nino was left field, and Adrien would take catcher. With his reflexes it would be child’s play to tag out anyone returning home.

 

OoOoOoO

 

Everything was going good. Mylene, Max, and Alya were all out and nobody was on base. And Adrien hadn't embarrassed himself... yet.

 

And then Marinette was up to bat and everything changed.

 

The boys clothes usually tended towards t-shirts and loose athletic shorts, with a sweatsuit for the colder months. The girl's clothes were very similar, with one exception; while some of them wore the same loose, flowy athletic shorts as the boys, the rest wore something different.

 

Tight, fitted shorts. The kind that had a one inch inseam. 

 

And  _ damn _ did Marinette wear them well!  _ ‘So do Alya and Chloe’ _ a small, traitorous part of his brain added.

 

So here he was, having recently developed a crush on the girl standing right in front of his crouched form, his head right at the same height as her...

 

He couldn't even finish the thought.

 

He absentmindedly caught and returned the first strike, eyes firmly affixed on the sight before him. 

 

She hit the next ball, sending it soaring towards left field and immediately took off towards first, and then second base.

 

He watched her run to first base, the little Alya in his brain saying  _ ‘Hate to see her go, love to watch her leave!’ _

 

And then she rounded first base. And as she ran, his mind broke. All thoughts boiling down to one word as his eyes turned up. 

 

Bounce. 

 

Luckily, he snapped out of it when Nathaniel stepped up to bat, blocking his view. He looked around, hoping no one had caught him, and of course, there Alya was, looking right at him with a smirk plastered on her face. It was a different one this time, though. Less teasing, more understanding. As though she’d been in his shoes before.

 

Well, he remembered Nino saying something about everyone having a crush on Marinette eventually. Apparently, he was right.

 

OoOoOoO

 

This was the status quo for the next week. Every day Adrien would discover, or rediscover something he liked about his petite, blue-haired friend.

 

In one class he fell for her artwork and designs. The care she put into each line or curve was breathtaking, especially for the son of an established fashion designer.

 

Then it was her handwriting of all things; smooth, flowing; adorably loopy, and she dots every ‘I’ and ‘J’ with hearts! Could she be more adorable?

 

And of course, whenever he gets caught up in the wonder that is Marinette, Alya is there to catch him in the act.

 

And now it’s Saturday. A photographer had to call in sick, so most of his day was open now. Once Alya heard that, she requested  _ -read: demanded- _ that they all have a picnic together. He agreed, of course. He wanted to spend time with his friends, eat good food supplied by Marinette’s parents, and just have a good day. And, magic superhero powered by a pocket sized god of entropy and bad luck or not, he was not going to mess with a determined Alya Césaire.

 

So here he was; sitting with Nino and Alya in the park near Marinette’s home on an honest-to-Plagg red and white patterned picnic blanket waiting for Marinette to arrive with the food.

 

His musing carried on along this path for a few more minutes until he noticed Nino and Alya look up and grin. Marinette had arrived. He turned around to greet her, and, for the second time that week his brain ground to a halt.

 

_ ‘Oh,’ _ he thought  _ ‘that's the dress they were talking about.’ _

 

OoOoOoO

 

Unfortunately, all good things must come to pass, and Adrien’s father had something for him to do. After he left, Nino had to go as well, having plenty of homework to do. And it was just Marinette and Alya, now in Marinette’s room. And Alya ha something she desperately needed to say.

 

Marinette greeted her friends exuberance with cautious curiosity.

 

“You are not going to believe what I have to say!” She all but squealed.

 

“What it it, Alya?” Marinette questioned slowly, cautiously.

 

“It's Adrien! He's been looking at you all week!” This time, it was a squeal.

 

“What!” Marinette shouted, her mind jumping to the worst possible conclusions.

 

“No! Not looking, looking,” Alya tried to explain, “but  _ looking, _ looking. At you!”

 

“...” All that got was a deer-in-the-headlights look from her friend. Alya sighed and tried again.

 

“Adrien was looking at you the same way you look at him!”

 

It took six hours of panicking, calming, and more panicking for Marinette to get a hold of what was happening.

 

OoOoOoO

 

The next Monday, Nino, Alya, and Adrien were all sitting in class. The day before, Alya had let Nino in on what has transpired the previous week, and Nino told Adrien, who was delighted to hear exactly how Marinette felt about him, having only gotten a maybe the week before.

 

It was a few minutes before class was due to start, and Marinette had yet to show up. Adrien busied himself with making sure his school supplies were properly organized; pencils sharpened, paper clean, pens flowing, etcetera.

 

And then he heard the door close and his head snapped up. Marinette had made it to class with just seconds to spare. She looked over at him and their eyes met. They both knew what the other wanted, and that it was the same as what  _ they _ wanted. But they were teenagers, heroes or not, and both were afraid of what the future might hold. So you'll have to forgive them when neither was willing to take the plunge and offer first.

 

Luckily for Ladybug, everyone and their mother knew how impatient Chat Noir could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you may have noticed the hinting at the OT4 or Marinette/Adrien/Alya/Nino and/or Chloe at the end. There's something about it thats both adorable and wholesome about it while also managing to be sexy but not crass. I'll probably write a story for that later. 
> 
> Maybe.


	3. Jentacular

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jentacular (adjective, English)  
> Having to do with an early breakfast.

Paris is beautiful in the morning; little clouds floating along in the sky, painted red and orange by the sunrise. The smell of bread and coffee drifting on the breeze as bakeries and cafés get ready for the morning crowd. And the blonde boy in the black catsuit being flung bodily over the 4th Arondissment by a person dressed as a medieval owl-man. Were an ornithologist nearby, they would note the design was inspired by the Eurasian Eagle Owl, Bubo bubo, before promptly running away screaming.

Jean Audouin was a student of medieval history. Exhausted and pushed past his breaking point by endless all-nighters he had been transformed into Knight Owl by one of Hawkmoth’s insidious akuma. Clad in unbreakable feathermail and wielding the mighty sword Durendal, or at least a copy of it, he had set out to slay the professors responsible for his exhaustion; conveniently forgetting that it was mostly due to his own laziness and poor scheduling.

That was at 11:46 pm. Ladybug and Chat Noir had spent five hours chasing him through the streets and rooftops of Paris. Turns out he was absolutely silent when moving. Even Chat could only ever hear him landing or speaking. And to top it all off, the silent villain with the supernaturally sharp sword and impenetrable armor, could fly. He had a cloak made of bronze feathers that would split down the middle and attach to his arms, allowing him to glide or fly around à la Icarus.

The anachronism was almost as annoying as the flying. The only thing good about it was that he had to sheathe, or preferably for them, abandon, Durendal to fly.

Durendal was every bit as sharp as the stories said; bifurcated walls, severed lampposts, and literal “cut corners” of buildings stood testament to this. Luckily he had no real skill with a sword, unlike Darkblade, and his other attributes didn't help him in the growing light of day.

Eventually they cornered Knight Owl and could finally duke it out mano-a-mano. Or cato-a-birdo-a-buggo to quote Chat. Unfortunately he was pretty strong. Strong enough to fling Chat Noir over a few building, at any rate.

Instead of racing back into the fray after landing, Chat got ready; he trusted his Lady would bring the party to him. He split his staff in two and crouched down, steadying himself. He held the staff-turned-escrima-sticks to his sides, pointing down and away, each equally ready to swipe up and deflect away any blows that Knight Owl might throw his way. And judging by the falling streetlights, and the familiar zipping of a certain yo-yo, his lady was on her way.

The following fight was an interesting one, to say the least. A bit of a role reversal for the Kitten and his Lady. This time he was doing the fighting and she was the one running distractions; her yo-yo zipping out and knocking the Knight Owl’s arm off track and giving Chat a chance to recover, or straight up smacking Knight Owl in the face! Eventually, with a resounding clang Chat managed to knock Durendal from Knight Owl’s grasp, sending it flying to the feet of Ladybug, who, mindful of its exceedingly sharp edges, sand it halfway into the ground and snapped it with a mighty twist, revealing an old, worn wooden sword. The kind that one would get at a renaissance festival, and an innocuous looking purple butterfly which was promptly captured, purified, and freed.

Moments later as ladybugs fluttered through Paris, putting everything back together, the two heroes were walking up to a disheveled Jean Audouin. He looked up at them, an apology shining through the exhaustion in his eyes. The two heroes sat down and talked with him, giving him some advice on how to stay on a good schedule, and the confidence to power through his laziness.

After sending him off to his home, the Parisian heroes looked at one another.

“Ugh! Worst one this month!” Groaned Chat, flopping onto a nearby bench.

“Worse than Moulin Rogue?” Ladybug asked, taking a seat next to the sprawling cat. The Moulin Rogue being an akuma the had tackled two weeks earlier, who was a student at a dance class who was fed up with learning the can-can. She had run around in a blinding, technicolor can-can dress, forcing everyone she came across into being her slightly less colorful minions, all doing a perpetual kick line. She went down in one hour, and one exceedingly creepy red and black spotted cymbal monkey. It was the minions that were a pain, with their constant kicking. It was like playing a beat-em-up against that one kid who endlessly spammed their quickest attack.

“Way worse!” Chat moaned, “I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I didn't even get to watch the sunset with you!”

Ladybug just gave him a deadpan stare.

“Come on,” he said, “let's go get an early breakfast! I saw a cute little cafe with outdoor seating when Knight Owl flung me over here.”

She was about to respond with a fierce ‘no’, but then her body betrayed her with a loud grumble. The ever present grin on Chat’s face grew larger. She was pretty sure that shouldn't be physically possible, and that his Kwami was behind it somehow. Her belly grumbled even louder and she decided to go along with him.

The café wasn't even supposed to be open for another half hour, but the owner decided to open up early on behalf of Paris’ saviors.

Chat Noir got his coffee with ungodly amounts of sugar and cream, “Almost as sweet as you, my lady.” Whereas Ladybug got hers as black as Hawkmoth’s soul. And to top it off, they got crêpes! Strawberries and chocolate sauce for Chat, and raspberries, blueberries, and cinnamon sugar for Ladybug.

They spent half an hour, another round of coffee, and a veritable storm of photos for the Ladyblog there on the chairs outside the café, chatting contentedly while they watched their beloved city wake up.


	4. Objets Trouvés

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Objets Trouvés (noun phrase, French and English)  
> Objects from nature or man-made objects past their intended use, discovered again by chance, that have a certain beauty about them.

“That one! It's perfect!” Exclaimed Tikki, pointing excitedly at a small, bronze, antique key sitting idly amongst the other items on the shelf.

It was autumn, and Marinette had decided to take Tikki shopping. She’d bundled up as best as a fashionable young lady could; a slate grey jacket she had finished making last week over her usual light pink shirt, a dark blue skirt of middling length, her warmest leggings, a hand knit beanie with a big floof on top, and a large voluminous pink scarf for Tikki to hide in and offer advice or make selections.

They'd visited the local fabric store first, of course, to stock up on warm yarn and fleece and other necessities for making winter-wear. Marinette had even managed to sneak some extra soft baby yarn by Tikki. She was planning to make some coats and hats and mittens and socks for her Kwami, as well as Chat Noir’s. Red and green and plenty of black so she could make two outfits each so they both get one in their theme and one in the theme of their partner.

After dropping off her purchases with her Maman, she and Tikki headed for an antique shop a few blocks down the street.

As it turns out, Tikki loved antiques almost as much as she loved flowers and cookies.

It makes sense; Tikki is almost an antique herself, in her own little way.

So now, after almost a year and a half of secretly cohabitation with the adorable pocket-god of creation and good luck, her room looked like a cross between a seamstress’ workshop, a greenhouse, and a museum. Swatches of fabric and spools of thread were strewn about haphazardly. Countless shelves of knick-knacks and chotchkies, and dozens of assorted houseplants filled the room.

The miraculous ladies placed the key with the rest of their purchases -an old enamel pin, a black and green cat’s-eye marble, and some old buttons- and made their way to the register with the nice old man behind it.

OoOoOoO

Once home, Tikki immediately began flitting about her shelves full of treasures looking for the places where her new additions would fit best. The black and green cat’s-eye marble went into an old Ball jar from the 1980’s with all of its brethren. The peacock feather enamel pin went into a framed and reinforced piece of old denim from a vest that Marinette had attempted to repair. The buttons joined the other loose old buttons in a shallow dish. The key was the hardest, however. Everywhere she thought it would fit it was either out of place, or another key had found a home there.

Eventually, Tikki gathered up all her keys and took her plight to Marinette. The creative young lady quickly thought up a solution and they were off!

OoOoOoO

One trip to Marinette’s favorite craft supply store later and the lady and her ladybug were sitting at Marinette’s desk, looking through scraps of patterned cloth with a cork board, frame, a handful of key rings, and a container of wooden pushpins arranged to the side.

One hour and plenty of reorganization later there was a framed piece of plaid cloth -red, white, pink, and black, of course- that had been made into an adjustable pseudo-pegboard. A row of puns at the bottom housed rings strung with similar looking keys, and above that a small assortment of unique antique keys were hung with care.

Said pegboard was placed on a shelf that faced the window of the “master bedroom” of the dollhouse that Marinette had refurbished for Tikki, which sat neatly in the shelf above her bed. The bedroom was more of a nestroom, really. Full of little plush ladybugs that Marinette had made for her, scraps of colored cloth, and pincushions-come-kwamicushions that Marinette had also made. There was even a little reptile heating pad integrated into the floor for winter, and a stash of pocket sized hand warmers incase the power ever goes out.

By the time they had finished it was time to got to bed, so Tikki made one last lap around the room. She smelled all her flowers, made sure there were no loose pins on the lying around, and perused her treasures. Her Lithops were due to flower any day now, her Christmas Cactus was starting to bud out, and her “Souvenir de Bonn” Abutilon was still blooming up a storm! The cat’s-eye marble was front and center, the peacock pin was arranged just so, and the big, beautiful new key was centered on the pegboard; standing out nicely on the cloth made from her and Marinette’s signature colors.


End file.
